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Labs and Research


CEM students impact the world by solving the most complex infrastructure challenges.


Academic and industrial breakthroughs happen when students, faculty, and the construction industry work together.


Studies show that students who engage in research are more likely to graduate, are more likely to go on to graduate school, and have more successful careers after graduation.


Purdue has a number of ways for students to get involved with research within the construction engineering field including:

Office of Undergraduate Research

Discover first-hand how research contributes to the advancement of human knowledge, experience a change of pace from formal classroom activities and gain skills applicable to both research and non-research careers.


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Academic Breakthroughs

Academic Breakthroughs showcases research innovations in construction engineering and management by synthesizing relevant information from PhD dissertations and displays them in the form of fact sheets.


Advanced Construction Systems Lab

The ACSyL is the center of activity for construction research in the Division of Construction Engineering and Management. The mission of ACSyL is to identify areas of need and conduct research that produces both short and long term innovations for the construction industry.

The breadth of research conducted in the ACSyL extends beyond construction automation and robotics to include construction equipment and methods as well as project management and project delivery.


Bowen Lab

The 66,000 square-foot Robert L. and Terry L. Bowen Laboratory for Large-Scale Civil Engineering Research provides the space and technical capability needed to investigate the behavior of large structural models and elements subjected to loads representing extreme events—such as earthquakes, blasts, and impact. This helps ensure future structures will be designed to better withstand these extreme events.


Emerging Construction Technologies

The Emerging Construction Technologies research group in the Division of Construction Engineering and Management at Purdue University researches and evaluates new technologies that could produce a high impact in the construction industry.

These technologies can be categorized into eight areas of focus: Civil, Mechanical, Internet-Based, Electrical, Housing Systems, Safety, Sensor, and Other.

Each technology is analyzed and presented in an ECT Fact Sheet that describes the following: The Need, The Technology, The Benefits, Status, Barriers, Points of Contact, and References.


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Global Leadership Forum for Construction Engineering and Management Programs

The Global Leadership Forum for Construction Engineering and Management Programs (GLF-CEM ) is intended to bring together professors from leading universities around the world who play a leadership and/or administrator role in their respective programs.

The objective of this forum is to establish a body of academic leadership in the area of Construction Engineering and Management to discuss and share issues of common concern in Research, Teaching, Academic Administration, and Opportunities for Collaboration.


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Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering

All CEM offices and labs are located in Purdue's modern Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering building. Space is ample for student and faculty needs, and the building houses student study spaces, lounges, and student organization rooms in addition to classrooms, labs, and lecture halls.


Lab of Computer-Integrated Infrastructure Informatics

The vision for the LCIII is a world-class research lab composed of highly talented scholars, modern equipment, and frontier research to address civil infrastructure challenges.

The mission of the LCIII is to contribute to sustainable, resilient, and intelligent civil infrastructure by creating computer-integrated tools and solutions to support decision-making throughout the entire life cycle of civil infrastructure.


Lyles Computer Lab

The Lyles Construction Computer Laboratory is a facility within the Division of Construction Engineering and Management that provides a rich environment to support both teaching and research activities for undergraduate and graduate students.


Multimedia Development Lab

The lab contains hardware and software to perform multimedia development and research for Construction Engineering and Management students.


Purdue Index for Construction

Pi-C is a portal for the construction industry to enable data driven policy development and strategic decision making.


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SPARC Lab

The Solutions for Profitability and Assessment of Risk in Construction Lab was founded by Dr. Mark Hastak at Purdue University in August 2002. The broad aim of the SPARC Laboratory is to cultivate new forms of knowledge and research in the area of risk management in construction engineering and management.

Currently, the lab's objectives include:

  • To pursue outstanding research directed toward understanding, assessment, and management of risk in construction
  • To improve understanding of profitability in the construction industry
  • Disaster Impact Assessment and Hazard Risk Reduction
  • Infrastructure management


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You will make a difference and solve the most complex infrastructure challenges.